Revived
by Aleine
Summary: The entirety of reality is consistent of millions of universes, all collapsing on one another to create a continum. The skisms between these universes are empty voids. There is no way in, and there's no way out. There never has been. Until now.
1. Prologue

_The night is alive and raging_

It is a beautiful night in Godric's Hollow. The snow has settled down to a several inches above ankle-level, and the birds' conversations are loud and clear through the still winter night. It is as if lovers of the air have finally taken a stand against all nature, and all of nature has stopped in its authority to listen. The children of the neighbourhood are still playing outside, skating and making snowmen before the unpredictable thaw sets in. I can hear my brothers flying around the house with their friends, with our fathers chasing them around. I hear the merriment. I hear the joy. I hear the beauty of the solstice.

But I'm locked up in my room, tucked under covers. All my lights are switched off, all the windows and ventilation shafts closed and all of my belongings locked inside my trunk which is tied with ropes and hidden under the bed. I myself am hiding under several layers of sheets. I'm keeping my eyes tightly shut, with all the energy that I could muster, as if my very own life depends on it.

Maybe it does.

 _The night is divine and unforgiving_

Since our return from Hogwarts for the Holiday two months ago, I would turn in around 6 PM every evening, and remain hidden in this exact position, irrespective of whether I actually sleep or not. I would not move, even if the house catches fire or if our entire family is being murdered. It's not that I did not love my family. I love my family more than my own life, even though sometimes I really do wish that James would just disappear. I would not be able to live without them. I could not…

But there are things in this world that are worse than dying or living beyond the passing of all that you love. There are things in this world that you could not get rid of or shake off even with the passing of this world to the next. Some torments in the world are so violent that it would haunt you and harvest on you for the rest of all eternity, with no hope of ever being released, not even with the kiss of Death.

Because, once you see it, you will never be able to un-see it.

And I have seen it.

 _The night is vengeful and awakening_

The wind is blowing through the fruitless trees, making its branches shiver and caress each other, as if reminding them of their futility and fragility. They get closer to the window sill with each blow, bringing life closer to me. Its gentle caress against the sill is soft but it rings clearly in the mystic air. The curtains are awfully still, as if they are being held in place by a presence. The floorboards creek from time to time, as if the presence is moving across the room at leisure.

I do not see them. I don't have to. I feel it. I feel all of it. I'll never be at peace again.

I am Lily Luna Potter, and I've awaken the night.

I am Lily Luna Potter, I can never let her die.

I am Lily Luna Potter, the girl who survived the Veil.

Ginny sat at the foot of the stairs, her eyes tightly shut in fierce concentration. She was doing it again, as she had been doing throughout the holidays. She knew how wrong it was. Her entire physicality was raging against her mind's efforts, just as it had done the very first day, but she had no choice. There was no other way.

Her little girl was gone.

"That's quite unconventional you know"

Ginny gasped, getting to her feet, her heart clutched in both palms, startled by her husband's sudden appearance.

"How many times, Harry? Don't _do_ that!"

Harry was about to make a crude joke but stopped, as he saw Ginny's bloodshot eyes. He pulled her into an airtight embrace, stroking her hair lightly and whispering into her ear.

"It'll be fine Gin. She's a tough girl, just like her Mother. She won't give up. Neither would we"

"Then _why_ aren't you doing anything, Harry, _Why_?"

She knew it was unfair to blame Harry for any of this. If it wasn't for him, Lily would have been lost to the world. She knew how bad Harry was at this, but in her mind, if Harry couldn't do it, there was no one who could.

So she tried again.

"Please Harry. Just do it. Try at least. For me. For her. For all of us. We can't lost her. She's our baby, Harry, please… please…"

Harry hugged her tighter as her body broke into sobs. He closed his eyes in resignation, but stayed in that posture until Ginny's sobs ceased.

"All right. I'll do it."

Both Harry and Hermione dove out of the room, gasping for breath. Ginny and Ron sprang to their feet but didn't move towards them, as they emerged down the stairs.

"Did you _see_ that?" Hermione asked Harry, looking delirious.

"Yes Hermione it was quite hard to miss" Harry looked equally mad, as if they had both been subjected to the Cruciatus curse over and over again.

"Oh for crying out loud, _what the hell did you see_? Was she there?" Ron blurted out, no longer able to contain himself.

Hermione looked at Ginny fearfully. She hadn't moved or said a word ever since they had sat on the stairs that evening. She only stared at Harry wide-eyed, with so much hope. Even when Hermione was beginning to talk, Ginny didn't flinch.

Hermione shifted her attention to Ron.

"She's in there, locked up in a corner"

Ron looked as if Hermione had thrown a spider in his face.

"If she's locked up, then… Then who's in control?"

It was Harry who answered.

"Lily. My mother"

Harry didn't fall asleep that night, and neither did Ginny. They lay side by side in bed, holding hands, until Ginny finally broke the silence.

"I want to see what you saw"

Harry knew exactly what she meant. Ginny had tried over weeks, but had failed. Her emotions always got in the way, and she was never able to get through the process. The only way in which she could do it now, was through him.

Harry didn't want her to see any of it, but he had no choice. She _had_ to see it. She was, after all, her mother.

"All right" Harry replied, but he didn't make a move. So Ginny sat on the bed, taking her wand from the night stand beside the bed and pointed it at him with an unsteady hand. She didn't cry this time. In fact, she showed no emotion as she forcefully steadied her hand by grasping the wand with both hands.

Harry closed his eyes as he heard her get in position. He delved into the events of the evening as she whispered the spell, almost inaudibly.

"Legilimens"

 _Harry and Hermione walked into Lily's room as quietly as possible, closing the door behind them. Hermione didn't want to cast any spell to ensure that she stays asleep, in case they alert her or whoever is in control. As they reached her bed, Harry looked at Hermione and nodded in encouragement, as they both pointed their wands at Lily and whispered the spell together._

 _"_ _Legilimens"_

 _Harry felt a tugging sensation at his navel as everything around him disappeared, only to be replaced with a dark, old and withered forest._

 _And he was not alone._

 _Standing ten feet in front of her was a pale figure, draped in the darkness of the forest. The only part that was visible of the figure was the head._

 _A red head._

 _Harry gasped and started to panic as he realized who it was. His reaction drew the figure's attention, and the head began to lift, exposing the face._

 _A pale-white face with green eyes._

 _"_ _Mom"_

 _Harry heard himself whisper. His voice sounded alien and distant, and he had no control of it. He heard himself call at her over and over again, until his mom's vision focused on something behind him._

 _He turned in time to see Lily, his daughter, stop in her tracks as she saw her grandmother._

 _That's when realization hit him. Whoever is in control is showing him this memory of his daughter's._

 _Harry watched helplessly the events of the day he almost lost his daughter._

 _The day she walked into the Veil._

 _Lily turned to the figure in the distance. First, it was only the shadow of the figure in the dark, but it started walking towards the pool of light mere feet in front of it. Lily saw a red head emerge, along with a pale body. Lily looked it in the eye, and knew who it was._

 _"_ _Grandma Lily?"_

 _The figure only nodded in response. She stared at Lily in the eyes with so much intensity that it kept Lily rooted on the spot, staring back into her green eyes. Her skin started to prickle as a possibility occurred to her._

 _What does she not want me to see?_

 _As if on cue, Lily felt figures surround her, making it dramatically obvious that she has nowhere to run. It was highly unnecessary as she was magnetized by her stare. Then all too soon and ridiculously quickly, the figures were gone._

 _And her feet were giving away under her._

 _She heard someone scream her name, and she felt arms around her, dragging her away. She could have sworn that there was a figure standing exactly where Grandma Lily was standing mere seconds before, a figure with rugged black hair and fiercely lit eyes._

 _And then she could have sworn that the figure had disappeared the same way Grandma Lily had done._

"Sirius!"

"Harry, snap out of it!"

 _"_ _Sirius!"_

"Harry you're going to wake her up!"

Harry felt the same tugging sensation as he was pulled back from Lily's mind. He looked at Hermione, terrified and yet thrilled. Hermione was trembling with fear.

Harry's face fell as he followed Hermione's train of thought.

 _I'm not alone._


	2. Chapter 1

_Six months ago…_

"Imagine yourself locked up in a cell"

Professor Luna Longbottom pointed at each of the drapes in turn as she walked gracefully from the door to the black-board, shutting them off one by one. The class was one of the smallest in the entire school, as not much students took up Alchemy. Since there had been no electives last year, both the sixth and seventh graders who had opted for this subject were in this class together. There were only a handful of students, most of whom were in Ravenclaw and Slytherin.

Unbeknownst to all, crouched in a dark corner were two second years. Lily, having grown with Hermione throughout her pre-Hogwarts life, was so much like her, as much as Rose was not. Lily was naturally smart, a trait inherited from her Mother and Grandmother, and was eager to learn, as adapted from Hermione. She also had a knack for danger, as inherited from her entire heritage, hence was always in restricted areas, physically or legally. This was one such mild occasion.

Hugo, her best friend, had naturally seen this as a good idea yet again, and was crouched in a corner alongside her. Usually these were followed by a trip to Hagrid's hut, as an attempt to ease guilt, and those were always to look forward to.

But the problem was that Lily had picked Professor Longbottom's class this time. The other Longbottom would have been fun. He'd have seen this as funny even. This one wasn't strict or always cross, but she scared Hugo a little. She scared him because Lily had always been attached to her, and had always believed what she said.

Lily was hanging on to Professor's words like her life depended on it. The boring parts of these escapades, such as listening, were her job . His job was to make sure nothing happened to her, even if he gets caught in the process. So Hugo took out his Vanishing Parchment and Instant Quill, and started writing to James.

 _What's going on?_

Vanishing Parchment and Instant Quill were two of James' and Fred's inventions, among millions of others. The trick was that Install Quill only worked on Vanishing Parchment and vice versa. So even if the Parchment got caught, it wouldn't reveal anything unless there's an Instant Quill to check its properties. If a regular quill was used, the Vanishing Parchment would act like any other regular parchment. The Quill works the same way, when written on regular parchment. The beauty of this invention was that no wand-magic could unveil its secrets or contents. Only certain words can.

The words Hugo wrote on the Parchment vanished, only to be replaced by another set of words merely seconds later.

 _Just locked Rose and McLaggen in the broom cupboard. She's threatening to blast it open._

Hugo had to stifle a laugh before writing down the reply.

 _Too bad Malfoy isn't around. Or you could have petrified him right outside the door and left._

The reply came faster than expected.

 _Not bad kid. You do me proud._

He tucked the Parchment inside his robes, smiling to himself, and turned his attention to Lily's notes. Lily was not the only one like Hermione, despite how much Hugo tried to be like James.

"Now imagine the entire prison, filled with cells like yours. Imagine what everyone is like in isolation, when their bodies are too tired and minds are too weary to occupy themselves anymore. All the prisoners could do is wait for the time to pass. In that isolation, all they're aware of is the passing of time. This is enough to drive any man insane. Why, have you ever wondered, that might be? What is it about the awareness of time passing that is so terrible?"

She halted her deliberate meandering at the blackboard, and turned towards the windows at the back of the class, to gaze at the summer morning, as if what she is about to say was deep and depressing.

"We never truly understand the depth of the words we say. Words are just ends to some means. We are trying to impress, dominate, manipulate or draw attention with words, nothing more. If you pay attention to the world around you, you would notice that the loudest and most talkative people are the most ignorant"

Hugo and Lily snickered silently at the irony of this statement. The smartest person in the entirety of wizarding England, who incidentally was Hugo's mother, was one of the chattiest people they knew, and on the other hand, the loudest person they knew happened to be Hugo's father, Ron, who didn't quite dominate the brains department with his wife.

"Now we come back to _the_ question. What is it about time passing that is so terrible? Look at the words carefully"

She turned to the blackboard and wrote the question in her slow rhythmic manner.

 _What is it about the awareness of time passing that is so terrible?_

Then she underlined the two words _time passing_

"There is a vast difference between passing and passing by. If something has passed by, you can go back to it, or if someone passes by you, you can recall them. Controversially, when something passes, it is truly lost to the world.

"When a person is isolated in a cell, weary and tired to occupy themselves, they're forced to acknowledge the passing of time. They are forced to witness _time dying_.

"There is a basic principle that governs the universe: Balance. The universe cannot handle definite creation and definite destruction, because it would upset the balance. Therefore, the basic mechanisms of the universe are cyclic. Everything is an endless cycle, nothing is created and nothing is destroyed.

"That is why history keeps repeating itself. Wars will never stop, but neither will peace be fully destroyed, just as chivalry isn't exactly dead. But time… That is an entirely different story."

Just then, the bell rang, bringing the entire class out of trance. Lily and Hugo remained hidden while the rest of the students collected their books and left the class. It was evident to the two kids by the look on everyone's faces that they were awed by Mrs. Longbottom's class, and they looked surprised by this fact as well. Once all the students were out of the class, followed by Mrs. Longbottom, Hugo and Lily sprinted out of the class and all the way across the corridor to the stairway.

"That was…" Lily began to comment once they were safely on their way to the common room.

"I know! That was simply amazing! First I thought the class was going to be about metals and potions. But, blimey!" Hugo blurted out, excited.

"I wasn't exactly expecting anything as such, though. Do you remember what your mom said? It's a science of-"

"Consciousness" Hugo finished the sentence for her. "Yes I do remember. But mom hardly ever makes sense. We usually assume its bullocks"

"Maybe you should consider the fact that you lot is too daft to understand her. How she ever ended up with Uncle Ron, I'd never understand" Lily was shaking her head in mock amusement.

"Something about love numbing the brain" Hugo said with a nonchalant shrug, as they rounded the corridor in front of the Common Room.

"Yeah well, I'd never find out anyway. _My father will hear about this_ "

The Fat Lady swung backwards, without glancing away from her book, at the mention of the password.

" _My father will hear about this_ " Hugo snickered, "Damn that Fred really cracks me up"

Fred was this year's House captain, while James was Head Boy. (James had been the Quidditch captain last year, and this year it was Skyler Wood. The Head Girl of the year was Amber Dolohov.) The muse for the password had been quite an interesting incident that had taken place the previous year. After losing yet another Quidditch game against Albus, Scorpius had tried to hex Albus while his back was turned to him. Seeing this on time, James had transfigured Scorpius into a white mouse, who had been hunted by the school owls for the most part of the day, until his House captain Blaine Flint had brought Headmistress McGonagall to transfigure him back. At this point, Scorpius had screamed "My father will hear about this" over and over again to any non-Slytherin around him, all day long. Most of the student population, being related to either the DA or the Order, had started mocking him about this instantly, as they had heard so much about how Scorpius's father Draco had acted the same.

"Fred and James" Lily said affectionately, shaking her head, "They are up to something today. I really don't want to miss it"

"Oh yeah they were trying to lock Rose and McLaggen in the broom cupboard. I suggested they petrify Malfoy in front of the doors and disappear, as Rose was threatening to blast the doors open"

Lily fell onto a couch in the corner of the common room, laughing, while Huge fell in next to her. Fred and James were regarded to be the reincarnation of Fred and George (even though Uncle George was still alive), but the older generation always compared them to James and Sirius. They always had something up their sleeves to crack the entire school with laughter, and this always involved using a Slytherin as the subject of the joke.

Not that anyone complained. Hogwarts was packed with children of ex-Death Eaters, the Order and the DA. An incident involving the two parties took place at least once a week.

"Should we go see what's happening?" Hug asked nonchalantly. Lily got to her excited, pulling Hugo to his feet as well.

"Thought you'd _never_ ask!"

They ran down corridor after corridor, Hugo leading the way with Lily closely at his feet. They rounded the final corridor and slowed their pace, coming to a sudden halt in front of the broom cupboard. They both tiptoed carefully, so as not to make a noise, and pressed their ears at the doors. Without any warning whatsoever, the doors swung open and Lily and Hugo both fell inside the cupboard…

At McLaggen's feet, who had Rose pressed onto the wall.

Snogging.

Hugo remained transfixed on the spot as Lily ran out the door. She ran all the way to the end of the corridor and bumped into Fred, James and Nick Jordon.

"Whoa! Watch it Lils" James steadied his little sister, "What's the matter?" James asked concerned, as he saw the look on Lily's face.

"Rosie… and McLaggen… In the broom cupboard… Sn-Snogging!"

Fred and Nick burst into laughter while James looked horrified.

"Oh man, Rosie is sooooo dead!" Fred exclaimed, in between choked laughter.

"It's not that bad, is it?" Lily asked James hopefully.

"Oh my sweet sister. If you were caught snogging Malfoy" (Lily made gagging noises at this) "Mom and Dad would flip out, but they would only be mad at you. But Rosie snogging McLaggen is going to rile up Aunt Hermione and Uncle Ron against each other as well"

"Why, exactly?" Lily asked, confused.

This threw Fred and Nick into another fit on laughter. Containing his amusement with the greatest difficulty, James replied;

"Gabriel McLaggen is not just the son of Cormac McLaggen. He is the son of Cormac McLaggen _and_ Lavender Brown"


End file.
